True Detective: 5 Crazy Theories On How It Will End

Despite a comparatively short lifespan, HBO's critically acclaimed True Detective has reached Lost levels of theorising, with the action unfolding cryptically enough for anything to happen in the series finale on Sunday. The internet is ablaze with weird and whacky ideas about cults and killers and Yellow Kings: fans are freeze-framing shots and zooming in to examine background props; they're cross-referencing lines of dialogue with old films and literature and mythology... and it's all in the name of trying to figure out the ending to this beautifully crafted show. But maybe we're all being a little presumptuous, and the final episode could play out without any twists whatsoever. Show writer/creator Nic Pizzolatto even went as far as to say:

€œI€™ve enjoyed reading people theorise about what€™s going to happen because it€™s a sign that you€™re connecting. But I€™m also sort of surprised by how far afield they€™re getting. Like, why do you think we€™re tricking you? It€™s because you€™ve been abused as an audience for more than 20 years. I cannot think of anything more insulting as an audience than to go through eight weeks, eight hours with these people, and then to be told it was a lie€”that what you were seeing wasn€™t really what was happening. The show€™s not trying to outsmart you.€

Naturally, half the fun is in trying to predict how it will end, even if some of the ideas are crazy. Seeds and red herrings have been planted for seven weeks and there are so many lingering questions. Is it important that the show wasn't called True Detectives (plural)? Does it mean that one of our heroes is the killer? Is there even going to be a monster at the end of the trail, or will we be left disappointed? Here are five crazy theories about how it will all end...